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Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Damnation Gallery Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
(Low) The idea of making a band started in 2015. The very first line-up included me (Low) as bass player, Lord Edgard as guitar player, Naskull as a drummer and in the beginning of 2016 Scarlet as Singer.
We immediately started to compose new tracks, developing our very personal concept of horror metal, which has got a very aggressive musical approach linked with a very aggressive look and sinister and obscure themes.
After months of work the band released the EP “Transcendence Hymn”, which is made up of three tracks, an intro and an outro, published in September, 2016.
After the EP's release, Alastor joined the band as second guitar player.
We're working on gigs and the new album at the moment.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the ep?
(Low)You can find a mix of all the musical genres we listen to, reinterpreted following our personal tastes. You can find heavy, thrash, doom and death metal, all blended with a heavy and sinister atmosphere.
We would like to underline that our sound is intentionally raw and unprocessed because we think that what you get on the album should be what you get at our gigs.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
(Low) Our lyrics concern our daily fears, paranoias, coming directly from our personal experiences that are turned into horror scenarios.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Damnation Gallery'?
(Low) It's a sort of representation of anything that could be defined “evil”: a tunnel full of sufferance and fear that it's necessary to cross.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
(Low). We think that our debut gig has been one of the most outstanding ones. If you come to a show of Damnation Gallery, you can find a debris of heavy metal straight to your face, linked with our scenery, which is a way to depict visually the nightmares we are talking about.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
Low) From now till may we have plenty of gigs in our town. In the future we hope to move outside of Genoa, but we think we don't need to rush, taking every step without cheating.

7.The ep was released on 'Masked Dead Records', are you happy with the support they have given you so far?
(Lord Edgard) We're sincerely happy with the work Masked Dead Records has made so far. It's crucial how the label is actively supporting our activities and spreading the word about our evil deeds. In addition, I'd say that we have a incredibly fair treatment compared to other labels in our country.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of extreme metal?
(Lord Edgard) Our fans come from different areas, even though most of them come from Italy, around our area. Generally our fans are really happy about our music and our image: this is a sign that we're heading towards the right direction.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
9) (Low) The main task is to release the new album and tour as much as possible. We don't have boundaries for the future: we may vanquish the world or keep playing in our rehearsal room forever, but we're sure that we won't stop playing what we like.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
10) (Scarlet) Personally I've been influenced mostly by Death SS, Opera IX, Dimmu Borgir, Marduk, Rotting Christ, Pentagram and Elisa. I basically discovered my vocal style by listening to male voices more than female ones.

(Low) I love metal in all forms, but I listen to every genre of music. My favorite bands are Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Anthrax and many many more. I also like Funky music (as a bass player I love slapping).

(Naskull) I mostly listen to early Sepultura, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Death, Dimmu Borgir, Slayer and Children of Bodom.

(Lord Edgard) I like many different artists from the 80’s, such as King Diamond, Celtic Frost, Necrodeath, Slayer, Merciful Fate, Hell, Overdrive and Morbid Angel, together with artists of the 90’s, such as Carcass, Deicide, Cradle of Filth, Immortal and Dimmu Borgir. I also like Exodus, Anthrax, Overkill and Testament a lot. My favourite guitarists are Jeff Loomis, Yngwie Malmsteen and Andy LaRocque.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
11) (Scarlet) Music is my reason of life. Not only playing, but also listening to gigs and attending metal fests. But i can say that i also love cooking and have dinner with my friends, cooking for them. I also like riding racing motorbikes, even if I’ve not done it for years.

(Low) When I don't play my music (and when I don’t fucking have to work) I relax playing videogames, especially zombie-themed or war games.

(Lord Edgard) Together with music, I enjoy cooking, traveling and taking pictures of every kind. I also love muscle cars, fishing and Harley Davidson motorbikes.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
(Lord Edgard) I'd personally like to give an advice to the whole metal brotherhood: support the underground, because it's been done in the past and this led the most known bands of our era to get their fame. The underground scene is like a gardenhouse: if it's fed with support tons of new amazing music can be released for the masses

(Low) We want to thank those who supported us so far and also we want to invite those who don't know us to check out our page http://www.facebook.com/damnationgallery to give their feedback about our music. If you're interested in purchasing our EP, check our label's website http://mdrshop.bigcartel.com/product/damnation-gallery-transcendation-hymn-mini-cd-w-mini-dvd-case